Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Sierra is the working title for this novel. I don't have a name for it yet, so it's named after the main character.

Sierra
McLaughlin finds herself sitting beside David Anders on her way from
Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Daytona Beach, Florida. She's on a trip
to interview at Stetson University for her Masters in art, and David,
having just graduated, is heading home. They hit it off and she shows
him some of her pictures for her portfolio.

David
took the pictures as she took back the coffee. He opened the book and
grinned. "Great shot of the Inlet," he commented happily.

"I
like to tell a story with the pictures. I took a few landscape shots
when I got there."

He
flipped through three more. The next picture was of four surfers in
silhouette, the sun and water in front of them. One was bending over
putting on his wet suit. His tight ass was nearly center of the
frame. The guy to his right was profile, looking down at him. The
other two were checking the waves, eyes shielded against the glare.
Their boards were planted upright in the sand.

David
chuckled, pointing to the ass shot. "Very nice composition.
What's this part of the story?" He mimicked a female voice. "I
got to the beach and saw this great ass and had to take a picture?"

Sierra
grabbed for her book, but he held it away from her, out into the
aisle.

"He
has a bathing suit on!"

"Yeah,
but still! I didn't think Stu had that good an ass. Mine's better."

"You
know him?"

"Yeah.
I know all of them." He pointed to each in turn from left to
right. "Tom, Stu's ass, Brent and yours truly."

Sierra
squinted at the picture. The guy shading his eyes and turned slightly
to his right, watching the waves was very familiar.

"Oh,
my God! It is you! How weird is that?"

"Not
very when you figure I spend every available minute on my board."

"But
that we should meet on a plane, when we've been at the same school
for several years. It's weird."

"When
you put it in that perspective, yeah."

Suddenly
excited to have met one of her subjects, Sierra leaned over the album
eagerly.

"No
problem," David grinned. He put the album in his lap and put up
his tray.

The
pictures started to fall off his lap. Sierra, not really thinking,
made a grab for the album and missed. The flight attendant looked
down at them and gave her a knowing smile. With a twinkle in her
eyes, she walked to the front of the plane. Red faced and mortified,
Sierra watched the photo album fall to the floor. Unmoving, she
stared at it until David picked it up and dusted it off.

"No
harm done," he smiled, white teeth flashing in his tanned face.

"I'm
so sorry," Sierra muttered as the plane began to move.

"For?"

"Grabbing
at the book. I missed," she whispered as she blushed a deep red.

"Not
everything," he smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it
was some strange Mississippi greeting. Hi," he held out his hand
to her again. "I'm David and these are my balls. Would you like
to sample a handful?"

Sierra
laughed suddenly, realizing he wasn't making fun, just making light
of a very embarrassing situation. Putting on her best Southern Belle
accent, she replied with a flutter of her eyelashes.

"Why,
Mr. Anders, I believe you're a bit presumptuous. I never grab a man's
private parts on the first date."

"Too
bad," he sighed. "I rather liked it. You can grab my photo
anytime you want."

Sierra
giggled and nudged him playfully in the ribs.

"You're
awful. No wonder they're sending you home."

"I
can't be expected to behave," he agreed. "It's true. Cannot
play well with others is on all my report cards."

"Mine
all say, cannot be trusted with photo albums," she added.
Gasping, she grabbed his hand as the plane left the ground. "I
hate flying," she whispered and clutched his fingers more
tightly.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Rada
Sample has come home to Mississippi from Orlando, Florida, to bury
her last relative, her great-grandmother. Unbeknownst to Rada, Granny
Sample had quite a fortune amassed. The only child of a long line of
only children, Rada is the sole heir to a fortune—as well as a huge
Antebellum mansion. She and Max Van Dorn have been dear friends since
they were five years old. Though they never quite got together
romantically, they still both carry a bit of a torch.

Miss
Sally served their meals with a flourish. Both of them had ordered
fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn on the cob. She
waited a moment until Rada took her first bite.

Rolling
her eyes with pleasure, Rada chewed and swallowed. She smiled up at
the old woman. "Delicious as always, Miss Sally. Your fried
chicken is the best in the world."

"You
ought to come back for good. Your roots are here, not in Florida."
She said the word like it was covered in slime and filth.

Rada
grinned. "Well, I've got a good job there. Reckon I'll stay."

Sally
sniffed to show her disapproval and stalked off. For a tiny woman,
barely five feet tall, she could sure strut like a super model.

"You'll
be the talk of the town now," Max said, watching the old lady
retreat.

"I've
been so before. Why's now any different?"

"'Cause
now you're a rich woman. Got a big house and a fortune."

"Much
of which I'll have to spend fixing up that old place. I looked at the
roof today. Did you see it?"

"Junior
Simmons supposedly repaired it," he began.

Rada
tried to interrupt. Max held up his hand.

"Didn't
say he did a good job. He hammered the damaged shingles down with six
penny nails and declared it done. Granny was in no shape to inspect
it. I did, but she didn't want to fool with it anymore. I got that
first on my long list of things to do."

"How
long's that list?"

He
held out his arm, then the other. They both laughed.

"Reckon
we'll see a lot of each other," she replied.

"Reckon
we will."

"How
much would it cost to put in air conditioning?"

He
puffed out his cheeks and bit his lower lip. "Woof. I dunno. I'm
not an a/c man. I got some friends who can come give you some
estimates. They're all good men. Just depends on what color you
want."

She
frowned. "What color?"

He
took a sip of his tea, winking at her over the top of the glass.
"Blond, brunette or redhead?"

"Any
of them as good looking as you?" She immediately regretted what
she said. Dropping her gaze, she stared at the table, knife and fork
poised by her plate. "I'm so sorry. That wasn't right. I'm real
tired."

Max
chuckled. "Miss Rada, I take that as a compliment."

"Good.
I'm glad. You know me. If it's there to be said wrong, I'll say it.
Once again, I embarrass myself." But you are gorgeous. You're
handsome, jacked. . . . And it's been a long, long time. . . .

"Lost
ya again, baby doll."

Rada
shook herself, concentrating on her food. How long had it been since
she'd last had a man in her bed? She couldn't remember. She stayed so
busy as an executive for a movie company, she hardly had time for a love life.
Most of the men she knew were petty and egotistical. They weren't
like the men she'd grown up with. They were too concerned with stock
portfolios and fancy cars. They were like girls with three piece
suits and dicks. The image she'd conjured up made her giggle.
Covering her mouth, she tried not to spew her food.

Max
frowned, leaning toward her as she started choking. "You okay,
baby?"

Rada
nodded, eyes watering as she continued laughing. "Sorry,"
she gasped. She couldn't tell him why she was laughing. Not here.
Later, when they were alone, she'd tell him.

"It's
official. You're finally plumb out-your mind," he said with a
knowing smirk. "But I been saying for years that Rada Sample
wasn't quite right."

Purposely
copying his accent, she met his gaze with narrowed eyes. "I done
said Maxwell Van Dorn ain't right neither."

Max
laughed loudly, slapping his knee. "That's what I love about
you, Rada. You don't take my shit, you give it right back to me."

"Watch
your mouth, young man," Sally called from the kitchen.

Rada
laughed when Max blushed. "You ought to know by now, she's got
ears like a polecat. She can hear everything you say," she
whispered.

"Only
when it's something I can completely embarrass myself with." He
hesitated a moment, wiping his lips with his napkin. "I've sure
missed you, Rada."

"I've
missed you too, Max." I live in the Sunshine State and my
skies are gray without you. Got to stop thinking like that!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

First
Love is set in 1975. A church youth group is on a mission trip to New
Mexico, helping to build a model of a Spanish torreón,
or tower, with adobe bricks. Working along side them is the
minister's son, Gabe. At first, Maddie thinks he's the man for her,
but soon Clayton tells her how much he loves her, and has since they
were kids. Though she's still friends
with Gabe, Clayton is her first love. There have been all kinds of
problems during the trip. For the time being, most of the youth group
is at the church auxiliary building, more or less alone—except for
one chaperon who's having heart palpitations.

Daniel
got up and went back to the boys' room. No one was sure if they
should follow him or not. Finally, Patti got up and went after him.
Clayton and Maddie decided to join them, leaving Richard with Denise.
He trailed in a few minutes later.

"Jeesh,
please don't leave me with her ever again. She wanted to make out.
Huhhh." He shuddered.

"She's
nearly as insufferable as Claire," Daniel said. "The only
one of them who came out of this a better person, is Beverly."

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

First
Love is set in 1975. A church youth group is on a mission trip to New
Mexico, helping to build a model of a Spanish torreón,
or tower, with adobe bricks. Working along side them is the
minister's son, Gabe. He's their age, but seems much more mature to
the girls from the youth group. He's clearly interested in Maddie
and, to Clayton's dismay, she seems very interested in him. This
scene takes place during lunch one day. Patti is Maddie's best
friend.

Gabe
sat next to Maddie. Very close. Clayton could barely see daylight
between them. He was sharing her plate of chips and pico
de gallo.
Maddie rarely shared her food. Clayton bridled when he saw them.
Patti's hand on his arm made him relax a little. Taking a deep
breath, he walked toward Maddie, grabbing a Dr. Pepper from the
cooler as he passed.

"Hey,
Mads. Need a beverage?"

Maddie
looked up, puzzled. "I've got one, Clayton. Thanks."

Clayton
popped open the can. It spewed all over him, bubbling and frothing.
Fortunately, he was already damp, so the additional fluid didn't
matter. Had he been dry to begin with, it would have made him look
like he'd wet his pants.

"You're
gonna want to wash that off," Gabe advised, glancing up at him.
"The wasps and ants really love that stuff."

"Thanks.
Yeah." Shaking Dr. Pepper off his hands, Clayton went to the
back of the building and turned on the garden hose, rather than the
fire hose. He had no intention of spraying himself into oblivion.

Patti
followed. "That went well."

"Shut
up."

"You
want her? Bring your A Game."

"What
if I don't have one? What if bumbling buffoon is
my A Game? Huh?"

Patti
crossed her arms, eyeing him in disgust. "What I saw last night
in the bathroom, that was A Game. This—I don't know what this is."
She waved her hands angrily.

Clayton
leaned close, talking quietly. "I'm terrified! I can't go up to
her now and lay one on her. And I sure can't go up and flirt when
she's with him."

"Fine.
Sneak another grope in the bathroom." She stalked away.

Clayton
shut off the hose and put it away. He wanted to be alone, but knew
better than to run off. Instead, he wandered behind the building and
sat on stack of lumber.

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

First
Love is set in 1975. A church youth group is on a mission trip to New
Mexico, helping to build a model of a Spanish torreón,
or tower, with adobe bricks. Working along side them is the
minister's son, Gabe. He's their age, but seems much more mature to
the girls from the youth group. He's clearly interested in Maddie
and, to Clayton's dismay, she seems very interested in him. This
scene takes place during lunch one day. Patti is Maddie's best
friend.

Clayton
sat in the shade of the adobe building, hands folded, head nearly
resting on his up-drawn knees. Patti settled beside him, handing him
half her sandwich. She invited him to share her heap of chips.
Clayton managed a half smile.

"She
has known you, literally, her entire life. Until recently, you never
showed any real interest, am I right?"

"I've
tried, Patti. She's never seen me as anything but a brother."

"Until
last night, did you ever say, I
want to be more than your friend?"

"No.
I'm a schmuck, okay? I thought she'd laugh at me."

"She
wasn't laughing when I found you."

Clayton
chuckled, it had an earthy undertone. "No, she wasn't." He
took a bite of the sandwich. "But I can't compete with—that!"
He waved his hand in the general direction of the others.

"With
what—That?"

"That
guy is better built than Charles Atlas."

"Have
you looked in a mirror lately—at all?"

"Yeah.
So?"

"So,
what do you see?"

"A
scrawny guy who needs a haircut. Why?" His tone grew defensive.

"Because
I don't. I see a guy who lacks confidence, but who's just as hot as
the guy over there. The difference is, that
guy doesn't lack confidence. That
guy sees exactly what you see—a pretty girl who wants to be kissed.
And you know what she sees when she looks at him?"

"Yeah,
a guy who isn't like a brother. If she could see past the fact we've
known each other our entire lives. . . ."

"She
sees," Patti interrupted. "A guy who's got balls enough to
show her what he wants. Do you have balls, Clayton?"

"Excuse
me?"

"Confidence,
bravado, chutzpah.
Do you, Clayton Ash, have chutzpah?"

"I—don't
know."

"Pussy."
She rolled her eyes in disgust. Rising from the ground, she took her
chips and sandwich from him.

"Hey!"
Clayton stood. "You're going to insult me and steal my food?"

"Take
it back." Patti held it away from him, behind her back.

"That's
insane. I'm not going to fight you for food. I'll go get more."

"Okay.
And while you're at it, tell the woman you love—that you love her.
She doesn't need some week long fling with a doomed long distance
relationship to follow. She needs you, Clayton. Yeah, he's hot and
sexy, but so are you!" She stamped her foot at him, nearly
spilling her food.

"Okay!
Okay. You talked me into it." He shuffled his feet. "Can I
have my sandwich back?"

Laughing,
Patti handed it to him. They walked back to the trees together.